Portable ice skating rink apparatus



Oct. 29, 1963 w. RAsKlN A PORTABLE ICE SKATING RINK APPARATUS Filed March 14, 1961 United States Patent O 3,108,454 PORTABLE ICE SKATILNG RINK APPARATUS Walter Raskin, 922 Ave. B, Brooklyn, N.Y. Filed Mar. 14, 1961, Ser. No. 95,702 2 Claims. (Cl. 62-235) This invention relates to freezing apparatus for use in ice skating rinks and more particularly in connection with those of the portable type. v

A problem often encountered inthe provision of portable ice skating rinks, such as used in shows, circuses, carnivals and otherwise in the entertainment field, is the lack of facilities for providing the required refrigeration and the surface on which to produce the ice.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide refrigerating means for use in connection with a portable skating rink, and which will produce the ice speedily; which will be light in weight for easy portability; which will be structurally sound; which can be very easily assembled and which can be readily dismantled for transportation to the next point of use.

It is an object of the invention to provide a refrigerating means which will provide a smooth and even surface for skating, and which shall have its components arranged for easy joinder, and with the assurance of rapid freezing results.

More particularly, the invention contemplates the provision of a plurality of freezing plates arranged horizontally and in side-by-side relation, each of the plates being provided with a refrigerant channel, and having a smooth, flat upper surface on which a layer of ice will freeze. A plurality of beams, each of which is of substantially inverted T-shape, is located beneath the plates and provides a support for the plates and the ice layer to be produced thereon. Each of the beams has a longitudinal refrigerant passage and is also provided with a groove extending along its top edge, the plates being formed with downwardly-directed flanges entering into the grooves and coupling them to the beams and maintaining the plates together in the required assembled relationship.

With these and other objects to be hereinafter set forth in View, I have devised the arrangement of parts to be described and more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, in which an illustrative embodiment of the invention is disclosed,

FIG. l is a vertical sectional View through a part of a refrigerating assembly constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view as seen from the under side of a portion of the structure of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view in perspective of a portion of one of the freezing plates or panels;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view in perspective of one of the supporting beams, and

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the junction between four of the freezing panels.

The improved refrigerating unit is primarily composed of a plurality of channelled freezing or refrigerating plates, herein referred to as panels 1, suitably connected to and supported by beams 2. Each ofthe freezing panels is composed of a fiat metallic upper plate 3 and an attached lower plate 4. The lower plate 4 is ribbed as shown at 5, the formation of the ribs being such as to provide a continuous refrigerant passage 6 between the plates 3 and 4, the plates being welded together at the points 7 between the ribs and elsewhere as required. A freezing panel of this general character is shown inthe patent to Raskin, No. 2,626,130 dated January 20, 1953.

Nipples 8 and 9 provide inlet and outlet connections for the refrigerant, allowing it to ow through the passage 6.

MiceY In the production of an ice skating surface, a plurality of these panels 1 are arranged to be supported horizontally and in side-by-side relation, the number of the panels employed as well as their particular arrangement being dependent upon the size and shape of the rink to be formed.

In the form shown, each panel is substantially rectangular in shape and has a smooth, flat upper surface 21 on which the ice will form to provide a smooth skating surface. The marginal edges of each of the top plates 3 are extended beyond the edges of the ribbed lower plates 4, and these marginal edges of the plates 3 are bent laterally to form downturned ilanges 10. These flanges 10 on the several panels 1 are fitted into grooves 11 provided in the upper edges of the beams 2, this arrangement serving as a tongue and groove means to couple the various panels together in the required horizontal, side-by-side relation, and causing them to rest on and be supported by the beams 2.

Each of the beams 2 is of substantially inverted T-shape and is composed of a pair of similar metal plates 0r halves 12 placed in facial relation and welded together at the points 13, 14 or elsewhere as required. Between these points of attachment, the plates 12 are ribbed or outwardly bulged, as shown at 15, to co-operate in the formation of a refrigerant passage 16 between them. Inlet and outlet nipples are connected into the passage 16, one of these nipples being shown at 17.

At their upper ends, the plates 12 which form the beam 2, are flared outwardly as shown at 18 to thereby provide the longitudinal groove 11 between them. Each of the plates 12 is provided at the bottom with a laterallydirected flange 19, said anges 19 constituting supporting feet for the beam when it is rested on the ground or floor or other supporting surface, as indicated at 20.

In setting up the refrigerating assembly, a plurality of the beams 2 are connected to the panels 1 with the beams in properly spaced and parallel relation. Transverse beams (2a in FIG. 5) are placed between the first-mentioned or parallel beams. The beams so arranged form rectangles, each corresponding in size to one of the panels 1. The panels 1 are fitted to the beams by having the edge anges 10 inserted in the grooves 11 in the beams, two abutting anges on adjacent panels fitting into each groove 11 as clearly shown in FIG. l. The nipples 8, 9 and 17 are properly coupled and the assembly is connected to the source of refrigerant to cause it to flow through the passages 6 inthe panels as Well as through the passages 16 in the beams. The assembly thus produced can be fitted within a confining frame, and water poured over the smooth top face 21 of the coupled panels 1 will soon freeze thereon into a smooth skating surface.

Any water flowing through the joints between the panels will be frozen by the refrigerant circulating through the passages 16 in the beams, thus providing an immediate seal and preventing loss of water.

The arrangement of the panels and their joinder to the beams is such that a rink of required size is easily provided and one which can be very quickly set up or dismantled for transport to another location, thus rendering the unit very useful and desirable for shows, Carnivals, circuses and other spectacles in the entertainment field. The connected panels provide a smooth support on which the ice is readily frozen into an uninterrupted skating surface, and the beams, while serving as refrigerating units, also provide irm and solid support for the ice and the skaters using the same.

The arrangement of the refrigerant channels is such that when use of the rink is no longer required and the rink is to be dismantled, a heated fluid may be caused to circulate through the channels to thereby melt the ice and as a result the dismantling of the rink will be greatly accelerated.

While I have herein disclosed the freezing panels as being substantially rectangular in shape, it will be apparent that freezing panels of various other shapes, such as for example, circular, hexagonal and in other form, may be employed. Also, while I have herein stated that one of the plates of each panel might be ribbed, both of the plates of each panel can be at and smooth and divided by partitions into the required refrigerant channels.

While I herein described a single embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that the same is not to be restricted thereto, but is broad enough to cover all structures coming within the scope of the annexed claims.

What I claim is:

1. A refrigerating means for ice skating rinks comprising, a plurality of flat panels placed in side-by-side relation to form a horizontal support on which Water is deposited to be frozen to form a skating surface, a plurality of beams located beneath the panels and on which the panels are supported, each of the beams having a longitudinal refrigerant passage, each beam having a groove at the top above the passage, and the panels having flanges at their edges removably fitted into the grooves to couple the panels together solely by their engagement with the grooves and to connect them to the beams.

2. A refrigerating means for ice skating rinks comprising, a plurality of spaced, parallel beams, each of said beams being composed of facially attached plates welded together and having outwardly-distorted ribs co-operating in forming a longitudinal refrigerant passage in each beam, the plates being formed with foot portions below 4 the ribs and being each provided with an upstanding flange above the rib, the anges being spaced apart to define a groove between them, a plurality of freezing panels supported by the beams, each panel consisting of a flat upper plate and an undulated under plate facially secured at intervals to the upper plate and defining a refrigerant passage between it and said upper plate, each of the upper plates having angularly directed flanges extending beyond the lateral limits of the ribbed under plate, said flanges on the upper plates entering into the grooves between the flanges of the beams whereby the panels will be held together solely and removably by the engagement of their anges with the said grooves.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 583,293 Pomeroy May 25, 1897 883,103 Evarts Mar. 24, 1908 1,049,685 Donnelly Ian. 7, 1913 1,223,801 Knox Apr. 24, 1917 1,738,469 Weiss Dec. 3, 1929 2,187,408 Tumm Jan. 16, 1940 2,217,083 Vetter Oct. 8, 1940 2,360,933 Bunker Oct. 24, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,073 Great Britain Mar. 24, 1875 2,239 Great Britain Apr. 24, 1917 445,476 Great Britain Apr. 9, 1936 655,965 Great Britain Aug. 8, 1951 1,156,268 France Dec. 9, 1957 

1. A REFRIGERATING MEANS FOR ICE SKATING RINKS COMPRISING, A PLURALITY OF FLAT PANELS PLACED IN SIDE-BY-SIDE RELATION TO FORM A HORIZONTAL SUPPORT ON WHICH WATER IS DEPOSITED TO BE FROZEN TO FORM A SKATING SURFACE, A PLURALITY OF BEAMS LOCATED BENEATH THE PANELS AND ON WHICH THE PANELS ARE SUPPORTED, EACH OF THE BEAMS HAVING A LONGITUDINAL REFRIGERANT PASSAGE, EACH BEAM HAVING A GROOVE AT THE TOP ABOVE THE PASSAGE, AND THE PANELS HAVING FLANGES AT THEIR EDGES REMOVABLY FITTED INTO THE GROVES TO COUPLE THE PANELS TOGETHER SOLELY BY THEIR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE GROOVES AND TO CONNECT THEM TO THE BEAMS. 